Off-Campus Study Approval System
Beginning in the 2009 fall semester, international and off-campus study program and course approvals will be accomplished through the myDiplomat system. For the 2009-10 academic year, both the online system and the Course/Credit form will be acceptable for credit transfer. Students attending Starting Points from now on should use the online system.
Follow the process outlined below to approve programs and courses in the approval system through myDiplomat. Any section labeled ACTION requires the student to enter information in the system.
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1. First Steps Attend Starting Points, schedule advising appointments and determine appropriate off-campus study program(s) with off-campus study adviser and faculty adviser input. |
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2. Program Approval Your off-campus study adviser enters information for your chosen program(s) in myDiplomat, generating an e-mail to your faculty adviser(s) asking for approval of the general fit of the program with your academic plan. If the program is a good fit, your faculty adviser indicates approval. If not, more discussion is needed. |
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3. Program Application Once your faculty adviser has approved your chosen program(s), you can proceed with the application process, following the program requirements and seeking guidance from the International Programs staff. You will also receive an e-mail prompting you to enter courses for approval. |
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4. Course Entry ACTION: At the appropriate time, begin to enter courses for approval. This may occur before you leave for the program, during the program enrollment period, or once you arrive at the off-campus program site and are able to register for courses. In any case, course selection should be discussed with faculty and off-campus study advisers. See a sample Course Entry Screen. See the Course Designation information for course categories. |
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5. Course Approval For each course added, your off-campus study adviser will determine which, if any, faculty member must approve the course for transfer. An e-mail will be generated to that person, asking for approval of the course. The choices for approval are "yes," "no" and "pending." If the faculty member decides that the course is not appropriate, or that more information is needed, you and your off-campus study adviser will work together to find an alternative. |
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6. Finalize Course Choice ACTION: When you enter your final course for a program, choose "yes" in response to "Is this the final course you will be entering for this program?" on the course entry screen. This could happen before or after you arrive at the off-campus program site, depending on the availability of course information. Choosing "yes" generates an e-mail to the off-campus study staff. Choosing "yes" does not prevent you from adding courses in the future. |
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7. Credit Calculation The off-campus study staff will review the final courses for credit transfer and clarify any questions. Credit will be assigned to individual courses, and transfer credit will be calculated according to the four U.S. semester credit hours equal one F&M course credit rule. See the Credit Transfer information for other credit transfer policies. |
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8. Additional Courses ACTION: You have the ability to add new courses and edit course information until the transcript from your program arrives at the Registrar's Office. For any new course, the approval process will begin again. |
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9. Record Locked Once the program is complete and your transcript arrives at the Registrar's Office, your off-campus study record will be locked. You will receive an e-mail when this happens. Any subsequent changes must be made through the Registrar's Office. |
